Determined
by LifeofLove
Summary: John never got to go on a Pokémon journey when he was young. He had to stay home and care for his mother. But when his mother is caught up in a series of abductions, the very thing that kept him from Pokémon now drives him to seek their help in rescuing her. (Rated T just in case)
1. Prologue-John's Life and Wier's Escape

John had always wanted to be a trainer. Since he was young, he'd watched the televised tournaments and battles and he'd always thought that maybe one day he'd get his own Pokémon. An Oshawott, a Snivy, or a Tepig. He always knew he wanted a Tepig, but he wondered if he might actually pick Oshawott…it was cute…

He wanted to catch his first Pokémon. He'd wait for the good ones. He knew that he could catch an Eevee in Castelia City, if he went through the sewers and found a mostly ignored patch of grass. He would evolve it into a Glaceon by training it in the icy caves.

He'd find another Pokémon in the Virbank Complex, an Elekid. He would train it into an Electabuzz and maybe, eventually, he could train it into an Electivire!

John's hopes were dashed at an early age. His father died and his mother fell apart. He stopped talking about Pokémon, his mother never asked him to give it up, but the stress she felt after his death worried him.

John couldn't leave, she needed to have someone to live with her. If she were alone…John didn't like to think what might happen.

Her friends helped them out with money for a little while, until she could get work, and eventually John went to work to help her out.

John was twenty-one now, and worked in preparing for emergencies at "Castelia Crisis", where he made plans in case of disasters.

But always, in the back of his mind, John's hope for a Pokémon journey lingered. He never forgot it and he always wondered what it was like to have a Pokémon by your side, to win battles against gym leaders, and fight for good when terrible teams like Plasma or Rocket showed up.

He still watched the televised tournaments, though it gave him grief to know he couldn't join them. He still watched the news, seeing great Pokemon-related feats such as a new trainer winning against the Champion with his friend Emboar, or terribly frightening things such as Hydreigon abducting people, though he had to resist joining them in their open and exciting travels.

John showered, got dressed, and went to work in his cubicle in Castelia City like he'd done everyday since he joined the working world.

2 years ago, Saffron City, Silph Co.

"This is it!" Exclaimed Clarence Wier. He pulled down the lever.

"Saaaar!" His Pokémon called from the contact chamber. Electricity sparked on the wires connecting the chamber to his computer.

The chamber buzzed loudly. "Saaaar!" The pained Pokémon called out again. Clarence had hoped to not use his own Pokémon for tests, but Team Rocket had ceased sending him Pokémon and Silph Co. would find out about his experiments soon enough.

"Did it work?" Asked the red-haired Team Rocket member. His name was Keaton, and he wore the black uniform, but he rarely followed orders. His brother, Landon, sat against the wall with his Meditite in his arms. He didn't like the experiments at all. They were terrifying.

"Hush!" Clarence snapped. The chamber door slowly opened and Clarence's Venusaur slowly stumbled out. It was a huge Pokémon with a great flower on its back. "Venusaur," Clarence whispered. He walked up to the Pokémon. "I'm sorry, my dear friend, are you alright?" He laid a hand on the Pokémon's head, it looked up to him with weary eyes but slowly nodded its head. "If you can, please, show us an Ember." The Pokémon closed its eyes and took a deep breath. It exhaled a spray of fiery sparks. Everyone in the room was quiet. "It worked!" Clarence finally exclaimed. "Venusaur, this is perfect!" The Pokemon was glad it had pleased its master.

"This is wonderful!" Keaton exclaimed. "Certainly you are the greatest mind of the century!"

"Oh please," Clarence said. He began gathering up his notes and binders. "This is only the beginning. I have plenty more plans, Keaton, you and your brother will see greater things than this. Pokémon will be stronger, Pokémon will do things they never could've done on their own. But that's just Pokémon. Think of what I might be able to do with people!"

"Uh, Doc?" Landon spoke up. "Is that supposed to happen?" He pointed to the panting Venusaur. Clarence looked to see a dim red glow about his Pokémon.

"Interesting…" Clarence pulled out his clipboard and jotted down some notes. He carefully laid his hand on his Pokémon. "It seems nothing more than a glow, but I can't be too sure yet."

"Wier?" A voice called outside the door. "Are you in there?" The door opened and the president marched in. "I knew it!" He exclaimed. "Unauthorized experiments. Good work, Elizabeth," He nodded to his young assistant. "And…Team Rocket?" His surprise grew when he saw Keaton and Landon's uniforms. "We're shutting this down immediately!"

"But all my work has produced a result, Mr. President!" Clarence said in a harsh, raspy voice. "But I won't waste my results on you. Instead, Venusaur, use Frenzy Plant!" The Venusaur summoned the last of its drained strength and powerful roots and vines rose out of the ground and slammed powerfully into the president and his assistant. Clarence returned his exhausted Pokémon. "Get us out of here, Keaton!"

"Alakazam!" Keaton released a humanoid Pokémon that looked wise and angry. It held a spoon in each hand as a reminder of its psychic abilities. "Teleport!" The three people and their Pokémon disappeared, along with all the equipment Clarence had used.

**This is the extension of the prologue which was originally a 1 chapter story "Determined". I've decided to continue it as a story. Thanks to Xtreme Gamer for beta-reading! (It may not mean much, but this is in the same universe as the story "Measures of Greatness")**


	2. Hydreigon

Castelia wasn't ever dark, it seemed, or calm.

When the sun went down, the streetlights came on. Light was also seen in seemingly every window when John walked home from work.

Stacking papers, folding papers, writing papers, sending papers, and sorting papers doesn't sound very tiring. But it was, and fairly boring as well. John just wanted to get home and get to sleep.

He knew, though, that when he did, he would only get up in the morning to do it all again. He stopped on the way home for a Casteliacone. It would be nice to have a little something sweet, he thought.

"Here you are, sir." The woman said, trading him the cone for his money. As he took the first lick, he noticed an unusual feeling. A nervous feeling, and thought perhaps there was something for him to worry about. His feeling was validated by screams, and then finally the sight of a sinister black mist swimming through the streets.

All the lights in Castelia City blacked out. This was no small statement. Castelia was a big city, with thousands if not millions of lights. It was almost unheard of to see stars in the sky. Their brilliance was always masked by the brightness of Castelia, always shining.

Now John couldn't ignore the moon, or the stunning pinpricks of light shining above him. But his mind couldn't linger on this sight for long, because a sudden flare of purple fire demanded his attention.

He could see a dark shape, and a dark face temporarily illuminated by the purple blast. It was a blue face with red eyes and red spikes around its neck.

"A Hydreigon!" John realized with a sudden jolt of fear. He remembered a newscast warning about Hydreigon abductions. He didn't know what to do when he heard another scream and watched the woman's purse fall as she was carried away.

"Give us some light, Liz!" Called a deep and very nearby voice.

"Hang on a minute, Carr!" Called back a feminine voice that was further away. "Come out, Skidz!" She said. John watched a red light shoot out of a Pokeball and form into a large yellow Pokémon with two black tails. Electivire, he recognized. "Use Flash!" She called, and suddenly the area had enough light to see fairly well. John saw a thin girl and a big black man. The light radiated from the Electivire and also revealed a fiery red and yellow Magmortar, pouring black smoke from the cannons on its arms. It wore a fiendish smirk on its big, pink lips.

The light then showed them a great bird with red and blue wings and a great fan of feather on top of its head. John knew it was a Braviary.

One thing the set these Pokémon apart from many others was the wildness of their eyes. They were large, with small pupils, and they looked hungry.

John was not feeling as terrified as he felt he should be. Examining the evidence, he realized he should be running, not standing, but as he turned to do so he encountered a terrible cloud of smoke.

"Aaaah!" A woman screamed. John wheeled round to see only a few feet away the Hydreigon releasing a deep roar at the terrified person.

Instinctively, John ran to her aid. He didn't know what he was doing when he pulled out his cell-phone and threw it at the great beast.

His cell-phone fell to the ground and shattered, but it had gotten the dragon's attention. It had the attention of all three heads.

The dragon let out another angry roar and showed off its fiery pink Dragonbreath attack. John looked back to see the woman had fled. Good, he thought. Now he just need to keep the Hydreigon's attention until…well…

He took off running, and Hydreigon followed after him.

"Muggy, use Muddy Water!" While John drew away Hydreigon, Carr had released his big blue and black-finned Swampert. It summoned a giant brown-tinted wave to crash down upon Magmortar.

The Pokémon replied with a white-hot fireball that had left even Magmortar's arm turning white from the heat of it.

The fireball was not so damaging to Muggy, being both Water and Ground type, but he did sustain a burn.

"Skidz, use Thunder!" Liz directed her Electivire. Its two tails were encircled with electricity before a great bolt of lightning struck Braviary from the sky. The Pokémon fell to the ground, weak.

"What have we here?" A new man appeared. His clothes were black, and the two battlers could see a red "R" on the front of his shirt. His hair was a deep orange, almost red, and his eyes were dark and cold. "A couple of Guild members?"

"Its Keaton!" Liz exclaimed.

"Yes." He replied. "Good job. Unfortunately for you that's the only good job you've done. While my friends here distracted you, Hydreigon's been gathering some new lab rats."

"Or so you think." Carr smirked. "Our friend's been distracting Hydreigon."

"What?" Keaton looked confused. He turned to look as Hydreigon released another Dragonbreath blast, and this time John's pants caught fire. "I see." He turned back to his Pokémon. "Well, I've got about all I need here anyways. I think I'll remind you why you shouldn't mess with me. Magmortar!" His Pokémon was suddenly enveloped in a wispy green aura.

"Braviary!" This one now had the same kind of aura, only brown. "Use Energy Ball and Earth Power!" The Magmortar lifted its arm, but this time they saw now fireball emerge but a ball of nature power. This attack was more powerful than the fireball had been when it struck Muggy the Swampert, and not only because of the type advantage. It was more powerful than even an advanced Venusaur could've used. Swampert fell, defeated.

Braviary gave a great crow and the earth around Skidz the Electivire jumped out of the ground and smashed into him. The power, strong as the Energy Ball, was greater than the legendary Groudon could've hoped to use. Skidz had no chance, he was defeated.

The two trainers recalled their Pokémon and were reaching for their next ones before Keaton returned Magmortar and Braviary.

"Hydreigon!" He called. The Pokémon left the terrified John, who was trying desperately to put out the flame on his pants. It was one of those things you were never really prepared for. He didn't know why he'd tried to save that woman. Now he was about to be burned alive!

"We've got what we need." Keaton said. "Not as much as I'd hoped, but still enough." He climbed onto Hydreigon's back and looked down at the determined faces of Carr and Liz. "Until we meet again!" They flew away.

"Ow!" John's legs burned. Carr released a puffy and white Abomasnow.

"Use Powder Snow." Carr said, and Abomasnow's soft snow snuffed out the fire and cooled his burns.

"Petals," Liz had released a Meganium. It was a quadruped with a lovely pink flower around its neck. "Use Aromatherapy." Somehow, the wonderful scent that Meganium's flower released was able to heal the burns on John's legs.

"You were quite brave." Carr admired. He grabbed John by the neck of his suit and set him on his feet. Finally John got a good look at the big man. He was tall and big, not fat, but wide and muscular. His hair was very short and black, and his eyes were small. The girl was very thin and fragile-looking. She had short black hair and kind blue eyes. John caught himself staring and quickly turned away. She was attractive, though.

"Not many people have the gall to take on a Hydreigon." Liz complimented.

"You should've pulled out your Pokémon and Blizzard-ed that scaly three-head!" Carr joked, but John suddenly felt inadequate in that he had no Pokémon.

"I uh…don't have any Ice Pokémon." John answered. These people were friendlier than he was used to also. He didn't really know how to make good conversation.

"Eh, no big deal." Carr shrugged, his Abomasnow for a moment looked indignant. "I'm Carr, by the way. This is my partner, Liz." He held out his hand and looked at Liz.

"Partner? Like-" John began, but Carr quickly shook his head.

"Not at all!" Liz objected. She looked quite a bit younger than Carr.

"We work together." Carr clarified. "As a team."

"Oh." John nodded. "I'm John, in case you want to know." There was a moment of silence as John surveyed the curious team. "Um…what exactly do you do?" They seemed some sort of emergency response team. But John had expected emergency response to be a little more professional. His line of work called for more civilized interaction, he thought.

"We're part of the Guild." Carr answered. "A small organization that sprang up when the Hydreigon abductions started. We're only four members so far. We work on situations involving this Hydreigon or his master, Keaton. That man is a handful of trouble, always has been."

"He and Carr were rivals growing up." Liz explained.

"Hey Liz, my story." Carr complained. Liz shook her head. John was amused by their interaction. "Anyways, when he grew up, he joined Team Rocket. You may have seen that R on his shirt."

"But we're pretty sure he's operating outside of Team Rocket now." Liz continued. "They abduct Pokémon, not humans."

"Yes." Carr nodded, giving Liz a look. "We think the Team Rocket clothes are just a disguise. But he's up to something terrible, what with his Pokémon being able to use abnormal attacks with extreme power. And, of course, abducting humans."

"But Carr said he was never a very smart kid." Liz stepped in once again, to Carr's continued distaste. "Carr said he's probably not the one behind it all. He's probably got a brain somewhere telling him what to do." Carr shook his head and sighed.

"Anyways, what do you do?" Carr asked. What an immediate and complete turnaround, John thought. He was still curious about Keaton and the story. Nevertheless, he wanted to be polite.

"I plan for emergencies." John replied. "I write up plans in case disaster strikes."

"That's perfect!" Liz said, shoving her hands in her pockets. "We could use a man with a plan."

"What do you say to joining the Guild?" Carr asked. "I'm sure you and your Pokémon would be a great addition to the team!" There he said it again, why did they assume he must have Pokémon?

"I'm sorry, I have to decline." John said, holding up his hand. "I've got work tomorrow, and all week. And I have to care for my mother. She…doesn't really have anyone else." The two's faces sank.

"Are you sure you don't want to join?" Carr continued. "I mean, it's a great job. We get to help people out, and there's hardly a dull moment."

"I'm sorry, but no." John had to be stern. Tempting as it was to go, his mother needed him. "Thank you for the offer, and for healing those burns." Liz shrugged.

"If you ever change your mind," Carr handed him a card. "Our offer still stands." John accepted the card. On it was a coat of arms, and over the coat of arms a banner that read: "Guild". Underneath the coat of arms it read: "Guardians United In Leading Defense", and had their address.

"See you around." Liz waved and gave a half smile. John smiled back, wishing he could join if only to spend a little more time with her. He turned away and put the card in his pocket.

When he returned to his apartment that night, he put the card on his nightstand, but he couldn't forget about Hydreigon. Tonight he'd so quickly returned to a normal schedule after such an abnormal event. He remembered Hydreigon's terrible face and red eyes boring into his very soul, almost.

Suddenly his phone rang and he snapped out of his dismal thoughts. It was his home phone. He remembered that he'd lost his cell-phone earlier that night. He'd have to get a new one; he sighed. He answered the phone, though his watch said it was nine thirty. It must be someone he knew.

"Hello?"

"John, its Wendy." That was one of his mom's friends. She never called him, though. She sounded very upset.

"What's the matter?" He asked, had something happened to his mom?

"Your mother's been kidnapped," She said. Wendy's breathing was shaky. "By a Hydreigon."

John's felt a spike of adrenaline pierce his limbs. He hung up the phone, grabbed the card off of his nightstand and his jacket from the hanger and raced into the streets.

He looked at the card, and made his way among the shady people of Castelia's night scene. He found himself finally in a dark alley, looking at a sign that read "Café Sonata". It looked old, and suspicious. John double-checked the address. This was definitely the address on the card. John looked behind him. A man with sunglasses leaned against a dumpster. Down the street two men talked excitedly in whispers. John took a deep breath and opened the door to the café.

No one was there except a man wiping down the front counter. He was tall, with a grey-black hair and a short grey beard. He had on a white short and a loose black tie. He looked like he was ready for bed.

"Welcome." The man said, laying down his cloth and leaning on the table. "How can I help you?"

"I'm not sure." John looked around the place. It looked just like any other café. It was dim, a calm brown color, with a couple tables. "I was looking for the Guild." John walked up to the counter and showed him the card.

The man looked surprised. "Your name John?" The man asked. John was taken back for a moment.

"…Yes…" He said suspiciously. John had no Pokémon, but he knew from tonight that he could run really fast if this turned dangerous.

"I hoped you would come!" The man took John's hand and vigorously shook it as some older men shake hands. "My name's Stanton, Hammond Stanton. Carr and Liz told me all about you."

"You know Carr and Liz?" John asked. He clenched and unclenched his fist, which was now sore.

"Yes, I'm their boss." He nodded. "Of course they didn't tell you anything about me. Come right back here," He directed him behind the counter and rotated a vase full of red flowers, which turned out to be some kind of lever. Now the left side of the back wall, which was covered with dishes, was sliding out of the way to reveal another room. "Welcome to the Guild! This is where we operate."

John was looking into a wide room with white walls and a very clean feel. The chairs were modern and square, the desk in the middle was a large computer screen that displayed the Guild logo. There were no windows, but six doors. Three on each side of the wide room.

"John!" Liz exclaimed she came immediately up to him and shook his hand. "I'm glad you came!"

"I knew you'd show up sooner or later." Carr smirked. "Good to see you!"

"Is this the guy?" Asked a fellow John didn't know yet. He looked similar to Hammond, except he had no beard and his hair was blonde. His eyes were a calm blue, but his face was smug. "I honestly expected a little more than a man with…burned pants." John hadn't changed. He hadn't been home long at all before he received the call from Wendy.

"This is my son, Dennis." Hammond introduced.

"Just Denny." The boy shook John's hand in a much calmer way than his father had. He was younger than John. Probably twenty-two or so. John was twenty-nine.

"This is our Guild." Carr smiled. "The four of us, or can I yet say the five of us?" John explained what had happened to his mother.

"I have to save her." John said determinedly.

"I like your spunk, kid." Hammond nudged him. "But if you want to join the Guild, your committing to more than just one person. You're committing to each one of us, and every person that Keaton or whoever he works for endangers. Essentially, that could be every person in the Unova region. And, if unpleasant happenings continue, the possibilities reach to the world as a whole."

"I don't care." John said. "I saw that Hydreigon's face. I don't want anyone else to face that, but especially not my mother."

"Then you're in." Hammond smiled. "What's your last name?"

"Lion." John replied.

"Team," Hammond spoke louder. "Say hello to John! The fifth member of the Guardians United In Leading Defense!"

Liz held up her hand for a high-five, which John quickly met. He felt a warm acceptance here, and everyone's faces were so inviting. He felt like a real member of the team already.

"Why don't we introduce your Pokémon, too?" Hammond asked, crossing his arms. "I'm sure we'd all like to see our other teammates too."

"Oh." John's face grew hot, and he knew he was turning red. This thought had somehow escaped his mind in a moment of excitement. "I don't actually have any Pokémon."

**So what do you think? As mentioned in the prologue, this is the same universe as my story "Measures of Greatness" but I don't think the two will tie in and if they do it probably won't be very heavy.**


	3. The Guild

The team's smiles faded. Denny had only a little smile to start with. Now it was almost a scowl.

"You all make such hasty decisions." Denny scoffed. "Honestly, we should've learned more about this guy. He helps us out one time and we all say 'come join our group!'" Ouch, John thought. His shoulders rose and he slouched his head meekly.

"How were we supposed to know?" Liz asked. Ouch again. John dropped his eyes. Liz put her hands on her hips. Hammond glared at both of them.

"Calm down!" He ordered. "You act like he did something wrong!"

"Well," Denny turned to his father with a stern look. "He ought to have told us before he accepted the invitation, instead of acting like he was one of us." John felt low. He felt like dirt.

"I'm sorry, really sorry," Carr looked so upset. "I didn't know, John…"

"We thought you'd have Pokemon." Liz shrugged. "I mean…why don't you?"

"Um…" John stuttered. He was embarrassed and frustrated. He felt like he was going to cry. He wasn't sad, but he knew they'd think he was. He was just frustrated. He hated this feeling. "I just…"

"You guys are so critical." Hammond sighed. "Why don't we just give him a Pokemon? I'm sure I've got a few Pokemon in the PC that he can have."

The three others looked at each other and exchanged different looks. John looked up. Was he actually going to get a Pokemon? His own Pokemon?

"But he can't have any strong Pokemon." Denny said, grasping a new argument point. "He has no badges. They won't listen to him."

"We'll give him a weak Pokemon." Hammond said in a "that should be obvious" inflection. "Come over here, John."

John joined him next to the PC. The three others leaned over their shoulders. "Alright, let's see here." He opened Amanita's PC and scrolled through his Pokemon.

This was a new and amazing thing that John was really able to appreciate since he'd never had any of his own Pokemon. It was fantastic to see this multitude of Pokemon. He saw ones he recognized, like Aggron, Drifblim, or Hariyama. And then he saw some he didn't know, but some of their names were Kingler, Flaaffy, and Delibird.

"Here's one that will listen to you!" Hammond said excitedly. "And perfect for a newbie trainer!" He chose a Pokemon named Torchic for John. Denny had an odd look in his eye. The Pokeball appeared in a tube next to the computer. Hammond nodded to it, and John took it. "Go on, let it out!"

"Oh yes." John looked at the Pokeball and realized he didn't know how to open it. He saw only one button, though, so he tested it. A ray of red light shot out, which scared John, but then that light materialized as a little bird-like Pokemon that was orange, with large feathers on his head.

He turned around and looked at John with his shining black eyes and John couldn't help but smile.

Torchic was adorable! John was going to be a trainer, he realized suddenly. The tears that had welled up in his eyes from embarrassment now wished to spill from joy. He only just caught himself before the others could see.

He squatted down next to his Pokemon and held out his hand to it. "Hey Torchic," He said softly. The Torchic glanced at his hand, and then up to his face. He turned up his beak with a sharp chirp. Hammond chuckled.

"Let me explain to you the situation." Hammond cleared his throat. "I know the others have told you the basics about Keaton and his suspected 'brain'." He looked around at the group. "And this appears to be the brain." He dropped a stack of papers on the table. "A report," He gave a sly smile. "On a robbery at Silph." Carr glanced back at Liz, who looked like she wanted to vomit.

"If this information is correct," He cautiously lifted his eyes to Liz. "Then Clarence Wier is the 'brain,' we're looking for." The rest of the team looked at Liz, who let out a shaky breath and nodded.

"Yes."

"What's wrong?" John whispered to Carr.

"She worked as an intern at Silph Company a couple years back." Carr replied, not bothering to whisper. "It began as a good experience, but she was traumatized to find a group of sickly mutated Pokemon discarded by Clarence as failed experiments."

"What kind of mutated Pokemon?" John asked cautiously.

"You don't want to know." Liz said with a pale and sad face. "It was terrible, pitiful…"

"She knows a lot about Clarence." Carr continued. "But she simply cannot talk about it. She can tell us when the information we gather is or isn't true."

"Its maddening." Liz said, seeming to recover from her disgust. "Just when I want to speak, my mouth shuts up and my mind turns away from that dark recess of thought."

"Spoken like a poet." Hammond admired. "Sorry. Anyways, we think he might be performing similar experiments on humans."

"What could he do?" John asked.

"If he mutated Pokemon," Hammond shrugged. "He's probably mutating humans. Cross-breeding, I should think, or trying to. Who knows what kind of terrible things he's up to. That's why we must stop him."

"Where is he?" John asked.

"We do not know." Hammond smiled. "But I have a plan, one that will greatly benefit you with your new Pokemon." John looked at his three partners. "There are some very suspicious places in Unova. Such as the Relic Castle, the Strange House, or even the Castelia Sewers. These places are not to go unchecked, and they need strong trainers to be able to take care of the difficult opponents in these places. That's where I'm sending you, Carr and Liz."

"Yes!" Liz exclaimed, high-fiving Carr. Denny's face began to take on an indignant look.

"How does that help me?" John asked bluntly. He felt very dim among these people who had obviously been a part of the group for at least longer than him and knew so much more than he did.

"I'm getting to that." Hammond nodded impatiently. "While we scour the holes of Unova, we must not miss those hiding in plain sight. Starting in Aspertia City, you and Denny will travel through the region of Unova in search of Clarence' base."

"Why are you sending me with the newbie?" Denny asked furiously. "I should be with Liz and Carr! I'm the strongest in this group!" John had a feeling that he and Denny were really getting off on the wrong foot. John had always been very meek, but Denny seemed to be a bit of a hothead.

"Don't boast." Hammond responded calmly and firmly. "But that is precisely why I chose you to go with John. He needs a stronger and learned trainer to show him the ropes and protect him." John felt a little unimportant and bothersome. He was the newbie, the naïve trainer, yet this younger guy was going to be his mentor? "Also, as you travel, John can visit the gyms and maybe catch a few more Pokemon."

"But-" Denny began but his father quickly shut him up.

"No buts." He stated, crossing his arms. "You want to work in the Guild, you follow my rules. Don't think that I didn't think about this."

"He just showed up." Denny grumbled. His father gave him a stern look and Denny sank into one of the blocky white chairs. Torchic sniffed at his foot. "Why are they still out?" He nudged the Pokemon away.

"Oh." John picked up a Pokeball but saw no recall button. "Um…" He turned to Liz. "How do I do this?" She grabbed his arm holding the Pokeball and pointed it at the Torchic.

The red ray dissolved the Pokemon into red light and it returned to the ball. John thanked Liz, who smiled and nodded.

"So I say we set out tomorrow." Hammond said. "Rest up, you've got a big day ahead of you tomorrow! John, I guess you'll have to sleep on the cough tonight. No matter, though, you'll be sleeping on forest floors soon enough!" Hammond laughed as the team dispersed to their rooms. He sat down on the couch and wondered what he'd just done.

"I'm a Pokemon Trainer…" He whispered to himself, and smiled. This is what he'd always wanted. It felt so weird, but good to finally have his own Pokemon. He felt empowered. But he couldn't forget about his mother.

None of the others came out that night except for Hammond a moment later with a blanket and pillow for him. John picked up his legs and tried to stretch out, but the couch was too small for him to lay comfortably.

His mind worried for his mother. He wondered who Clarence Wier was, and what he was doing. He got a sick feeling when he remembered Liz's horror at the thought of the mutated Pokemon. What could this man have possibly done?

What was he doing now? Was his mother alright?

I will allow the reader to know that right now she was not hurt. It was a dark place in the Unova Region, that much is certain, but Clarence's computers gave off enough light to make the room eerie and horrific.

"You brought me less than usual, Keaton," Clarence sighed. "Does your Hydreigon need another treatment?"

"No, he just got distracted by some crazy business-dude with a death wish." Keaton scoffed. "Anyways, how's your thingy going?"

"I can't get the arms right." Clarence groaned. "I thought I had it earlier, but the arms didn't work. Twelve times I got it wrong."

"You mean twelve arms?" Keaton asked, he never completely understood Clarence's experiments. He only understood that they could provide more power. That was all he wanted.

"Twelve people, Keaton." Clarence sighed. "But I'm almost there. If I can just figure out the arms…I have more than enough testers, though." His mouth twitched at the side.

John's mother sat in a dark room with many other people. None of them could speak, and many of them were asleep.

She'd understood a long time ago that she was in a bad place, but she had no idea how to escape. She'd hoped against hope that she was dreaming. She kept waking up and being fed, but then she would fall asleep again.

She lay still right now, hoping that somehow she might think up a way to escape, or to speak to other people.

But she had a terrible itch on her nose, and though she wanted to scratch it she knew that if she moved she'd be put to sleep again. She stared into the darkness, it was driving her mad not scratching it. She could not see the speechless guards.

She led her head fall to the ground and tried to scratch her nose against the floor, but they saw. Those terrible piercing eyes glared at her from the darkness and began to glow. She lost consciousness again.


End file.
